Justice News

St. Johns County I.T. Specialist Sentenced To More Than 17 Years For Attempting To Meet A Child To Engage In Sadomasochistic Sexual Activity

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Jon Christopher Stoune (45, St. Johns County) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for the attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, advertising for child pornography, and attempted production of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervision and to register as a sex offender upon his release. Stoune was found guilty by a federal jury in March 2016.

According to evidence presented at trial, during March and April 2015, Stoune engaged in a series of online conversations with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old child. The "child" was actually a detective from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. During the course of these conversations, Stoune discussed in detail his desire to have sex with and obtain pornographic pictures of the “child.” On April 21, 2015, Stoune drove to St. Augustine Beach to meet the “child” for sex and was subsequently arrested. Officers recovered a digital camera, several sex toys, and condoms from Stoune’s pants pocket. A search of his vehicle revealed, among other things, a backpack containing a leather whip, a wooden paddle, a billy club, nylon restraints, and other devices designed for use in sadomasochistic activity.

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.